Peter Howson is a contemporary British painter whose work I discovered via a recent auction.
Born in London in 1958 to Scottish parents, he moved with them to Ayrshire as a young child. He attended the Glasgow School of Art in the 1970s, gaining his first degree and later on a master’s. He went on to teach there on a part-time basis.
In 1993, Peter Howson was commissioned as Britain’s official war artist during the Bosnian War, and later covered the war in Kosovo for the Times newspaper. You can see why, his subject matter often shows the brutality, harshness and hopelessness in life; mining, boxing, fighting, homelessness, crime and rioting.
Often, I’m drawn to and repulsed by his paintings in equal measure. The gore, violence and the grotesqueness expressed in such a beautiful way. In some ways, it’s reminiscent of the work of Stanley Spencer, another favourite artist of mine – and who’s also known for his work on the subjects of war and religion.
His style really reminds me of the album cover artwork of In the Court of the Crimson King created by Barry Godber; compare it to the portrait at the top right of our montage above. Unsurprisingly, his artwork has also graced the album sleeves of The Beautiful South, Jackie Leven and Live (in 2005, the original artwork – Sisters of Mercy – sold at Christie’s in New York for $186,000).
There are many famous fans and collectors of his work including David Bowie, Bill Gates, Jack Nicholson and Madonna.
Here is Howson being interviewed in 2007 by Andrew Graham-Dixon about his exhibition at City Art Centre in Edinburgh Andrew: Portrait of a Saint.
His works are in the permanent collections of many of the top international arts institutions; the V&A, the Tate, MOMA, Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Galleries of Scotland and Glasgow Museums.
Additional image credits:
Invaluable
